5.  The applicant was born in 1980 and lives in Sevastopol.
6.  On the evening of 29 June 2005 the applicant was arrested on suspicion of murder.
7.  On 1 July 2005 the Nakhimivskyy District Court of Sevastopol (“the District Court”) ordered the applicant’s pre-trial detention for two months. The District Court noted that, if released, the applicant might abscond, impair the establishment of truth and obstruct the course of justice. It referred to the fact that the applicant had been charged with a serious crime and had no registered address in Sevastopol.
8.  On 11 July 2005 the Sevastopol Court of Appeal (“the Court of Appeal”) dismissed an appeal lodged by the applicant’s lawyer and upheld the lower court’s decision noting that the applicant had been charged with a serious crime.
9.  On 25 August 2005 the investigator in the case applied to the court seeking an extension of the applicant’s pre-trial detention to three months.
10.  On 26 August 2005 the District Court extended the applicant’s pre-trial detention to three months noting that, if released, the applicant might abscond, impair the establishment of truth and obstruct the course of justice. It referred to the gravity of the charges levelled against the applicant and a considerable number of procedural measures that had to be taken in the case. The hearing was attended by the prosecutor and the applicant’s lawyer. The applicant himself was absent.
11.  On 7 September 2005 the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal lodged by the applicant’s lawyer and upheld the decision of 26 August 2005, finding that the District Court had properly extended the applicant’s pre-trial detention. It dismissed the applicant’s contention that the investigator’s request for an extension of the preventive measure had been submitted outside the statutory time-limit as that issue did not affect the lawfulness of the impugned decision. The applicant’s allegation that he had to be released for health reasons had not been supported by evidence. The hearing was attended by the prosecutor and the applicant’s lawyer. The applicant himself was absent.
12.  On 27 September 2005 the investigator applied to the District Court seeking an extension of the applicant’s pre-trial detention to four months.
13.  On 29 September 2005 the District Court extended the applicant’s pre-trial detention to four months, noting that, if he were freed, the applicant might abscond and impair the establishment of truth and obstruct the course of justice. The court again referred to the gravity of the charges levelled against the applicant and the considerable number of procedural measures that had to be taken in the case. The hearing was attended by the prosecutor; the applicant and his lawyer were absent.
14.  On 13 October 2005 the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal lodged by the applicant’s lawyer and upheld the District Court’s decision of 29 September 2005. The Court of Appeal noted, in particular, that a considerable number of procedural measures had still to be taken in the case; the applicant was charged with a serious crime and, if released, might abscond, obstruct the investigation and continue his criminal activities. As to the applicant’s absence from the hearing before the District Court, the Court of Appeal considered that the applicant’s appearance had not been obligatory. The hearing before the Court of Appeal was held in the presence of the prosecutor and the applicant’s lawyer. The applicant was absent.
15.  On 26 October 2005 the investigator applied to the Court of Appeal seeking an extension of the applicant’s pre-trial detention to five months.
16.  On 28 October 2005 the Court of Appeal extended the applicant’s pre-trial detention to five months, namely to 29 November 2005. Its decision was based on the gravity of the charges and the necessity to finalise the investigation and familiarise the defence with the case file. The hearing was attended by the prosecutor and the applicant’s lawyer. The applicant was absent. The decision was not subject to appeal.
17.  On 29 November 2005 the criminal case file was remitted to the District Court for the applicant to be tried.
18.  In December 2005 the applicant lodged a complaint under the Code of Administrative Justice alleging that the prosecutor had failed to release him from custody after 29 November 2005. The applicant contended that his detention after 29 November 2005 had not been based on any court decision and was therefore unlawful.
19.  On 23 December 2005 the Leninskiy District Court of Sevastopol considered the applicant’s complaint under the Code of Administrative Justice in the absence of the parties. It found that on 29 November 2005 the case had been remitted to the District Court and that the prosecutor had not been empowered to decide on the applicant’s release. The applicant appealed against that judgment.
20.  On 29 December 2005 the District Court, conducting a preliminary hearing in the applicant’s criminal case, decided to order an additional investigation. It further ordered that the preventive measure in respect of the applicant be left unchanged.
21.  Following the completion of the additional investigation, on 28 February 2006 the case was again remitted to the District Court for the applicant to be tried.
22.  On 30 March 2006 the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal lodged by the applicant against the judgment of 23 December 2005 in the administrative case, finding that the judgment was lawful and substantiated. The hearing was held in the presence of the applicant’s lawyer. The applicant appealed against that decision on points of law.
23.  On 31 March 2006 the applicant was committed for trial before the District Court. The court held that the preventive measure in respect of the applicant should remain the same as there had been no grounds for changing it.
24.  On 17 and 18 October 2006 the applicant and his defence counsel requested the District Court that the applicant be released from custody, claiming that his detention had not been based on a reasoned court decision and there were no grounds for believing that he would flee from justice or obstruct the criminal proceedings.
25.  On 18 October 2006 the District Court dismissed the requests as unfounded, noting that the case concerned a serious crime and the applicant, if released, might abscond and obstruct the establishment of truth.
26.  On 1 March and 16 April 2007 and 1 August 2008 the District Court considered similar release requests lodged by the applicant and his defence counsel during the hearings. The court rejected the requests, noting that the preventive measure had been applied lawfully and there were no grounds for changing it.
27.  On 16 May 2007 the Higher Administrative Court, sitting in private, upheld the decisions of 23 December 2005 and 30 March 2006 in the administrative case and dismissed the applicant’s appeal on points of law as unfounded.
28.  On 19 November 2010 the District Court found the applicant guilty of murder and sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment. The applicant appealed and made another request for release from custody.
29.  On 12 April 2011 the Court of Appeal quashed that judgment and ordered an additional investigation. It also allowed the applicant’s release, noting that after 29 November 2005 he had been detained without a court order; the subsequent extension of his detention had not been properly reasoned and no time-limit had been specified by the court. In granting the applicant’s request the Court of Appeal also had regard to the overall length of the applicant’s detention. It released the applicant subject to a written obligation not to abscond.
30.  Following the additional investigation, on 18 July 2011 the applicant was committed to trial before the District Court. As of 4 December 2012 the proceedings were pending before the court.
31.  On 18 July 2011 the applicant lodged a civil claim with the Leninskyy District Court of Sevastopol seeking compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage sustained as a result of unlawful deprivation of liberty. The applicant contended, among other things, that his claim was supported by the findings of the Court of Appeal in its decision of 12 April 2011.
32.  On 5 July 2012 the Leninskyy District Court of Sevastopol found that the applicant’s claim had been groundless. Moreover, contrary to the requirements of the Compensation Act, the applicant failed to substantiate any damage he had allegedly sustained. The applicant appealed.
33.  On 8 November 2012 the Court of Appeal quashed the decision of 5 July 2012 noting that, instead of the Compensation Act, the first-instance court should have applied the Convention. The Court of Appeal further found that the applicant’s arrest and detention had been lawful and justified by the circumstances of the criminal case. Besides, according to section 2 of the Compensation Act, the fact of unlawful detention on remand could not be confirmed by a decision on the remittal of the case for additional investigation. Accordingly, given that the deprivation of liberty was lawful and substantiated, the applicant had no right to compensation for damage and the claim had to be rejected.
34.  The applicant appealed on points of law, but on 4 February 2013, his appeal was dismissed as unfounded.
35.  Following the court decision of 1 July 2005 the applicant was placed in the Simferopol Pre-Trial Detention Centre (“the Simferopol SIZO”). In order to participate in the investigative measures and court hearings, he was escorted to the Sevastopol Temporary Detention Centre (“the Sevastopol ITT”) for several days at a time. According to the official reply from the Prison Department of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, between 2005 and 2009 the applicant was escorted to the Sevastopol ITT on twenty-seven occasions. According to the applicant, during the whole period of his pre-trial detention he was transported to the Sevastopol ITT on forty-five occasions.
36.  According to the applicant, his trip to Sevastopol took about twelve hours and the trip back to Simferopol took from twenty to twenty-four hours. Although the transportation itself took about two hours, for the rest of the time he had to remain in a special metal cage inside the vehicle measuring 0.5 sq. m. During the trip the applicant was not given food or water and he could not sleep. The cages were dirty, cold in winter and hot in summer, and not properly ventilated.
37.  In the Sevastopol ITT, the applicant was allegedly held in overcrowded cells: during the first years of his detention he was held in cells containing six bunks, while the overall number of detainees ranged from twenty-five to thirty. In the last two years of his detention the number of detainees decreased to fifteen per cell, which still contained only six bunks.
38.  On 18 November 2005 the applicant applied to the Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights complaining about the conditions of detention and transportation.